Guitar World Readers Poll: The Greatest Guitarist of All Time

[buzzsaww]

Tom G Warrior, best guitarist ever... periods ...... LOL

[METAL MANIAC]

actually as I practice rimming with some of the ladies who are into it I try to keep my onion ring clean and stink free... with that I also seem to do a favour to Bill....

Ok Dude you win I give up, that is just fuckin hilarious!!!!

[Endrik]

Johnny Ramone and Steve Jones are way more influential than most of those big 80's lead players.
Most people who play play guitar don't play leads. Most people who play guitar don't know who the fuck Randy or Yngwie are nor do they care.
Most people who play guitar are strumming simple chords.

Another problem is the anglo-centricity. When it comes to great lead players then Tak Matsumoto is way bigger and influential than most of the lead guys in the list. In Asia he is a lot more popular than western lead players are in the West.

Each region in the world has its own big names which the "westerners" don't know and vice versa. Often the non-west audience for a certain player can be a lot bigger too.

Next problem... very popular music/afro-american/blues rooted centric list. A lot of different things out there which again can be a lot more popular in different parts of the world.

The biggest problem - Since when guitar world readers know much about anything? Cheap populism. Let the common people discuss about things which they indeed are good at... mopping a floor, fixing a car, typing with a computer etc. Music is an old and serious art-form which should be left to talented and intelligent people.

[Endrik]

we both have assholes and they both stink.

actually as I practice rimming with some of the ladies who are into it I try to keep my onion ring clean and stink free... with that I also seem to do a favour to Bill....

I do miss you guys. I personally want to come over and make love to everyone..with my right middle finger in your butt hole. That is heartfelt, and not in any way gay.

[dvscool]

"I do miss you guys. I personally want to come over and make love to everyone..with my right middle finger in your butt hole. That is heartfelt, and not in any way gay."
Dude really? Thats not gay?

Not that theres anything wrong with that
Sorry I had to say it

[METAL MANIAC]

Oh wait Endrik is posting....I guess i been missing out on this thread

Yngwie, is ...simply a rock guitarist that plays in minor scales - so as not to equate him with Stravinsky or some shit - take it for what it is. His earlier albums from Steeler through Rising Force are legendary.
I don't care how much of a hack he is compared to Bach or whatever, I love Bach too, but i still like Yngwie - and of course i can tell the difference that they are not in the same league. However his slot is cemented in rock history. And yeah his shit is tired today. But he still rips on the guitar and still pulls out some amazing lines, and consider he improvises 99% of the time.
So i'm a fanboy of the style he brought forth and it affected me musically possibly more than anyone or at least as much as Zappa, Uli, Dimeola and Schenker did. It also brought me into the world of classical, like a gateway drug.

These polls are - fanboy "Rock Polls", right, Pop always being the emphasis since it drives revenue. And when in reality the greatest guitarist of all time is some guy no ones ever heard sitting in his basement,.... or maybe that Brazilian dude on youtube.

I think while Yngwie owes much to Uli (who to me has a huge Hendrix influence in his playing, with some classical lines/vibes mixed in, but You could totally hear the Hendrix influence) but Yngwie also stands by himself side by side with Uli i think, if not for at least his earlier works with Alcatrazz ( which ultimately is catapulted by the vocals ) and Rising Force.

Besides the standard popular votes to the legends - [IE: Hendrix, Page] Now are we talking about songwriting ability? - or raw talent on the instrument? Does "Greatest Guitarist encompass songwriting and technique here? Ok Page is out, because as much of a great songwriter he was he was a sloppy guitarist - personally i think the same goes to Hendrix.

My pool of players would be something like, for mixed reasons - In no order Jeff Beck, EVH, Uli, Dimeola, Schenker, Randy, Yngwie, Vai, Becker...

If i ask myself of all the above, who's music would i choose to have if i was stranded on an Island for the rest of my life.
It might look like a tossup between Zappa (because of the total package, not the guitar playing), Al Dimeola or Michael Schenker... just for his body of work so many good tunes and solos.

But really thinking about it... since Paul Gilbert is about as technically adept as most guitarists ever get, and is a human Jukebox that can pretty much play all of those peoples shit above...very very well, maybe i'd just take Paul Gilbert.



...umm and some chicks.

I agree with 99% of what you have to say but I would add that his tone, vibrato, and technical ability/raw skills are mind-blowing...I respect Jimi and EVH but to me the one guitarist that caused everyone to go back to the "woodshed" and work on their chops was Yngwie. I know Uli and Randy dabbled in the classical realm but Yngwie is the one that inspired everyone to move from pentatonic scale to the harmonic and natural scales....as Horns would say these are facts...........You are my hero for the day

[atomic charvel guy]

Bill, you're gonna need that right hand, much less mighty index finger for a cigarette or joint holder while you're banging
Endrik.

I don't get up in arms anymore over lists, although Bill's efforts are appreciated, and at least educated and smart.
Major publications have people writing lists up that do not know music in general or guitar players and their impacts.
You can go back to the delta blues, thr baroque era, the jazz era here in the states (Django in particular)
there's just too many to like or love and plenty that don't do it for you.
Hendrix sent everyone to the showers when he exploded over in London. Jeff Beck is one of my all time faves,
but he'll tell you the same. As far as influential goes anyway at the very least. Eddie changed the instrument too,
Randy ushered in a classical twist, and then it just skyrocketed so quickly that to sell albums, you had to be
able to execute on a guitar as well as write great songs, and there were very few of those in the '80's, there was definitely more ability, but alot of those guys in the 80's didn't have the writing to go with their skills. NOT ALL OF THEM, just many of them, just my opinion, which means nothing at all,
except to me, as everyone has their favorites.

do you guys agree with me on this following statement? Yes, in '78 Van halen 1 was, and will remain sonically perfect forever, but two years before that,
I thought the sound on the first boston album was something i'd never heard before either. Awesome tone on that album. T Scholz i thought was great
given the tone alone, but they had the tunes too, unfortunately, they released the same album 3 times.

[METAL MANIAC]

Another good player that has not been mentioned in my opinion is/was Jake E. Lee...Ozzy never had a bad guitarist

[horns666]

OH BTW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=endbHISW-rw...

Uli is HUMBLE enough to play this live for Jason Becker, without ANY "look at me" ass raping histrionic ..feel the focking furies!!!

Yngwie peaked in the 80's. Uli is getting better with age.

[horns666]

ENDY..I love you and miss you! I miss alot of you guys. I'm sick of this post 'N Run shit. But I have a 17 goin' on 18 version of myself to raise. Do you know what's that like??...NO! None of you do..'cept for my dad. It's terrifying!

OK with that said. Yes, Uli was full-on Jimi. In every way possible. He even married Jimi's girlfriend. Who painted "Rising Force" for his debut solo record Earthquake. Jimi was the first to FUCK a Marshall stack..he humped the shit outta of it. Watch the Montery Pop footage. Look at the faces in the crowd at the end. They were horrified..girls were crying. Not joyful tears like watching The Beatles. No, they wanted to go home. He is the ONLY guitarist that scared people. Jimi gave that burned guitar to Frank Zappa. Dweezil put it back together. After that it was old hat. Oh, Ed..put the guitar in Paul Gilbert's hands..literally. 'The best" is subjective ..ALL these players reached and acomplished exactly what they wanted to do. But Jimi (especially him), Ed and Yngwie INSPIRED more players than any other guitarist. I told Loomis that he was just as good and taking things to levels not heard in Metal. He thaught I was crazy..but appreciated the compliment. He got it from watching Cacophony live as a teen. Uli recently performed a Jason Becker song called "Rain" with Jason at the show. Jason wrote it on his PC. It's on YT.

I can write a book on this poop..I made a list about 10 years ago. I'll find it somewhere. It wasn't complete then, and off the top of my head. I keep things in my head. Platers, bands, songs..my own songs. I never learned to record anything. Finding out bands was just buying everything by chance and hope for the best. Especially if it had a cool album cover. I'm still old school like that , and nver download songs and had an MP3 player. But everything is on Youtube to preview..so I don't have to blow money on crap anymore. I miss the days of word of mouth and wearing your favorite bands on your sleeve literally. Metal was more personal then. It seemed like it only belonged to you. Vinny shows me bands with a million + hits. I say forget it..they suck, and they do (trend shit) Let me show you a much better band in that kinda style and they have a couple hundred hits. This is so true. So, really good metal is still underground..but it plain view. It's silly really. People, kids are still to tired to explore, and just go with the flow. So metal actually and always will be mine..to share with freinds.


I do miss you guys. I personally want to come over and make love to everyone..with my right middle finger in your butt hole. That is heartfelt, and not in any way gay.

God this is old..but useful. I'd say the real list starts here.

Uli Roth
Zeno Roth..that's right, The master's bro!
Criss Oliva
Jeff Waters
Dushan Petrossi
Tony MacAlpine
Allan Holdsworth
Shawn Lane
Jason Becker..why not Marty Freidman..well, why not?
Eric Rutan
Curran Murphy
Pat O'Brian
Greg Howe
Ritchie Kotzen
John Sykes
Jeff Loomis
Jennifer Batten
Michael Faith
Rusty Cooley
Jani Liimatainen
Michael Lee Firkins
Reb Beach
Olaf Lenk
Joe Stump
Andre Corbin
Ron Jarzombek
Tim Calvert
Chris Impelliteri
Magnus Karlsson
Gus G.
Mike Romeo
Glen Drover
Brednt Allman
Vinnie Moore
Steve Stevens ..He's MUCH more than Rebel Yell!
George Lynch
Steve Morse
Steve Lukather
Frank Marino
Blues Saraceno
Joey Tafolla
Harry Cody
Jonas Hanson
James Murphy
Alexi Laiho
Roope Latava
Gary Moore
Alex Skolnick
Andy Timmons
Stevie Blaze
Al Petrelli
Akira Takasaki
Michael "Angelo" Batio
Jeff Waters
Craid Goldy
Doug Aldrich
Tommy Vetrelli
John Norum
John Petrucci
Tore Otsby
Ronnie Le Tekro
Patrick Rondat
Dario Mollo
Nuno Bettencourt
Kee Marcello
Adrian Vandenburg
Tony Fredianelli
James Byrd
Roland Grapow
Andy LaRoque
Mike Wead
Eric Johnson
Joshua Perahia
Chris Broderick
Tore Moren
Jorn Viggo Loftad
Jarno Keskinen
Damir Uzunovic
Peter Espenoza
Pete Blakk
Michael Denner
Hank Sherman
Andre Segovia
George Bellas
Gary Wehrkamp
Jeff Kollman
Marcel Coenen
Carlos Montoya
Al DiMeola
Scott Henderson
Stanley Jorden
Alex Masi
Axel Rudi Pell
Victor Smolski
Chris Poland
Warren DiMartini
Bruce Bouillet
Luca Turelli
Gary Werhkamp
Django Rheinhart (sp?)
Eddie Antonini
Thomas Wolf
Timo Tolki
Frank Gambale
Mark Mcgee
Jaron Sebastian
Brad Gillis
Jeff Watson
Buckethead
Herman Li
Sam Totman
Jame Murphy
Phil Keagy
Magnus Nilsson
Roy Z
Guthrie Govan
Ralph Santolla
Vitto Bratta
Steve Lynch
Muhammed Suicmez
Stephan Lil
Dweezil Zappa ..yeah, we know his pop!
Mike Amott
Chris Amott
Dave Suzuki
Fredrick Akesson
Fredrik Thordendal
Waldemar Sorychta
Christofer Malmstrom
Ron Thal
Franck Kobolt
Helge Engelke (has a Uli guitar)

[Trem]

Oh wait Endrik is posting....I guess i been missing out on this thread

Yngwie, is ...simply a rock guitarist that plays in minor scales - so as not to equate him with Stravinsky or some shit - take it for what it is. His earlier albums from Steeler through Rising Force are legendary.
I don't care how much of a hack he is compared to Bach or whatever, I love Bach too, but i still like Yngwie - and of course i can tell the difference that they are not in the same league. However his slot is cemented in rock history. And yeah his shit is tired today. But he still rips on the guitar and still pulls out some amazing lines, and consider he improvises 99% of the time.
So i'm a fanboy of the style he brought forth and it affected me musically possibly more than anyone or at least as much as Zappa, Uli, Dimeola and Schenker did. It also brought me into the world of classical, like a gateway drug.

These polls are - fanboy "Rock Polls", right, Pop always being the emphasis since it drives revenue. And when in reality the greatest guitarist of all time is some guy no ones ever heard sitting in his basement,.... or maybe that Brazilian dude on youtube.

I think while Yngwie owes much to Uli (who to me has a huge Hendrix influence in his playing, with some classical lines/vibes mixed in, but You could totally hear the Hendrix influence) but Yngwie also stands by himself side by side with Uli i think, if not for at least his earlier works with Alcatrazz ( which ultimately is catapulted by the vocals ) and Rising Force.

Besides the standard popular votes to the legends - [IE: Hendrix, Page] Now are we talking about songwriting ability? - or raw talent on the instrument? Does "Greatest Guitarist encompass songwriting and technique here? Ok Page is out, because as much of a great songwriter he was he was a sloppy guitarist - personally i think the same goes to Hendrix.

My pool of players would be something like, for mixed reasons - In no order Jeff Beck, EVH, Uli, Dimeola, Schenker, Randy, Yngwie, Vai, Becker...

If i ask myself of all the above, who's music would i choose to have if i was stranded on an Island for the rest of my life.
It might look like a tossup between Zappa (because of the total package, not the guitar playing), Al Dimeola or Michael Schenker... just for his body of work so many good tunes and solos.

But really thinking about it... since Paul Gilbert is about as technically adept as most guitarists ever get, and is a human Jukebox that can pretty much play all of those peoples shit above...very very well, maybe i'd just take Paul Gilbert.



...umm and some chicks.

[horns666]

To me, I'm thinking who has had the most impact on guitar players and guitar playing overall.

EVH and RR and YJM, in that order.

Theres TONS of other great players for sure, but overall, They are at the top of the heap. IMO.

Randy, had an impact on many just as Page..Page, and Ace more so.

Bust the true trinity of 'impact' of the landscape of guitar is Jimi, Eddie, and Yngwie. In that order. These are facts.

[dvscool]

To me, I'm thinking who has had the most impact on guitar players and guitar playing overall.

EVH and RR and YJM, in that order.

Theres TONS of other great players for sure, but overall, They are at the top of the heap. IMO.

[stevieb91]

Well, that one big match up finally came, Randy vs Eddie.. Randy wound up with about 27% and Eddie at 73%..

[METAL MANIAC]

go ahead and see, I was born in it, so I have no use for totalitarian and conservative music form and people who defend it.



nope



nope



nope, no disrespect intended, I approach art as a formalist, all critique is based on analysis and aimed at the form above all, if someone feels disrespected then I can't help it, I can't relate to it, I'm not offended by words etc. I'm offended when I have to bear bad art.



as a rational human being I figure out my faults myself and acknowledge them freely unlike some people who feel they can bullshit the audience forever.
lacking in some department makes me want to improve and not to keep bullshiting myself and the others.



Your point is stupid. I forbid you to criticize any subpar meal if you are not a 3 Michelin star chef.



sorry, I'm pretty lame at this... I am much more direct in real life.



This why I took the time to talk some shit in this thread. Some ridiculous exaggerations need to be balanced out a bit.



Because I'm a very caring and compassionate person who wants to improve the world if you haven't noticed yet.

Well, it is obvious you have your opinion, as I have mine. Your are not going to change my mind nor am I going to change yours. You know what, in the spirit of agreement, we both have assholes and they both stink.:idea: